


Teddy Lupin: Happy Birthday Dad

by communisthamster



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:41:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/communisthamster/pseuds/communisthamster
Summary: Teddy Lupin celebrates his father's birthday.HAPPY BIRTHDAY REMU :)
Relationships: Remus Lupin & Teddy Lupin, Teddy Lupin & Harry Potter
Kudos: 3





	Teddy Lupin: Happy Birthday Dad

_There's a starman waiting in the sky_

_He'd like to come and meet us_

_But he thinks he'd blow our minds_

_There's a starman waiting in the sky_

_He's told us not to blow it_

_'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile_

_He told me_

_Let the children lose it_

_Let the children use it_

_Let all the children boogie_

10 March 2016

“Happy birthday, dad,” Teddy whispered to himself as he opened his eyes. He crawled out of bed and put on his nicest dress robes, careful not to wake his dorm mates. He knew they wouldn’t mind, and they’d probably want to come with him, but he liked keeping his dad’s birthday to himself. He changed his hair from its usual blue to his dad’s brown, now they really looked like each other. He left Gryffindor tower quickly, only stopping at the door to the first years for a minute, wondering if he should wake James or not. He decided against it, he’d see him later.

“Hey, Teddy!” Harry pulled him into a tight hug as he walked out of the portrait hole. “Big day, yeah?” Teddy agreed, and let Harry lead him to his office. A mini feast greeted him, complete with chocolate “breakfast” cake. 

“Thanks, Harry,” he usually referred to him as dad, but he considered it disrespectful on certain occasions, “It’s delicious!” He said with a mouthful of cake. 

“Guess who got special permission from the Headmistress to take the day of?” Harry smiled, “Both of us!” 

“Hmm,” Teddy fake pondered, “Ginny?” Harry smacked his arm lightly.

“No, actually, I can do things from time to time, you know?” 

“Yeah, sure, whatever makes you happy.” They finished their breakfast after giving up halfway through the second cake. Teddy leaned back on the sofa, content.

“Are you sure you want to go to Godric’s Hollow alone today?” Harry’s voice wavered. Teddy didn’t respond right away, he had never visited his parent’s grave alone. He was always accompanied by someone, Harry (always on his birthday), Andromeda (until she couldn’t), Ginny (more times than not), and various Potter children. He sighed.

“Yeah, I need to.” Harry nodded, but his eyes looked sad. But, it was a sad day after all.

Teddy always tried to cover up his sad, his hurt, on his dad’s birthday. He was proud of him, and he wanted to give him the best birthday he could, even if was gone. When he was a kid and had first learned about his parent’s, really learned about them, his eyes filled with awe. His parents were so brave. When he first learned about werewolves, really learned about them, his eyes filled with awe. His dad was so brave. When Harry first told him about the resurrection stone, his eyes filled with awe. He was determined to not let his dad down.

“I am sorry too… Sorry I will never know him… but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand.”

He understood. He missed his dad, he missed the parent’s he never knew, but he understood their sacrifice. They fought against evil to make sure he could grow up without knowing the pain of war. He would never hold that against them.

“Breakfast should be over, I’m going to get James, and then we’ll leave,” Harry interrupted his thoughts, but he gleefully accepted the hug he was pulled into. 

“Oh, actually I left something in my room, so we can go together.”

“Perfect!” Harry said as he put his arm around Teddy’s shoulder. Breakfast, as it turned out, was not over. The pair was greeted with stares from almost everyone as they entered the Great Hall. They were both used to it by now. Harry tousled James’ hair before muttering “Meet you in my office,” as he walked over to the staff table. McGonagal was watching him, with an indiscernible emotion on her face.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY REMUS!” James blurted out. Unable to resist a good song, the rest of the Great Hall quickly followed suit. Even McGonagal joined in (apparently it was happiness).

Teddy and James walked back to their dorms, James babbling the whole time about whatever he thought of at the moment, not stopping until they reached the common room. Teddy ran up the steps to his dorm. He stuffed his dad’s pocket watch into his robes, he had forgotten to switch it to his dress robes pocket in his tired state earlier.

“Dad! Teddy! James!” A chorus of shouts greeted them as they flooed into the Burrow. Ginny pulled him into a hug, which soon evolved to include James, Albus, Lily, and Harry. Molly informed them that Ron and Hermione, and their kids, would be arriving soon. The group chatted until lunch. Although, Harry, Molly, and Arthur were the only ones really talking. Each trying to satisfy the requests for stories from each kid to the best of their abilities. It was not the first time Teddy wished his dad had not been so private. After a particularly enthralling story about Remus and a pack of werewolves, albeit with a few holes missing, and a devastatingly good lunch, it was time.

“Alright, take as much time as you need, send a patronus if something happens.” Harry pulled him into yet another hug before he apparated to Godric's Hollow. 

He steadied himself and took a few breaths before pushing open the gate to the graveyard. He said the all too familiar “I love you, I wish I could’ve met you,” to Harry’s parents before making his way to his final destination. He stopped again, and seriously considered sending for Harry, before shaking his head. He conjured a particularly beautiful wreath of flowers before laying down in between Remus and Tonks. Then, he cried. He cried and cried. He let the tears flow, determined to feel what he needed to feel. Eventually, the tears stopped, he wasn’t sure how long it had been, but he guessed a good amount of time had passed. 

“Happy birthday, dad,” he wiped his eyes as he sat up, “I got you something.” He pulled out the pocket phone he had recently got and began playing David Bowie’s Greatest Hits. “Hope you like it.”

He talked as the music played. He talked about everything, just as James had a few hours ago. What classes he was taking (Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite), how his N.E.W.T.'s were going, what his friends were up to, what songs he liked, anything, really. And then he talked about his parents. Something he had just read about them or the Order of the Phoenix, something he wished he knew about them. He was crying again, but it was okay.

“I’m proud of you,” he wiped the tears away, “All of you. Goodbye, dad, mum, Sirius.” He stared at each stone individually before turning to leave. Although Sirius was not buried there (or anywhere), Harry had insisted a headstone be placed there in his honor. The sun was beginning to set, but Teddy had one more thing to do before heading back to his family. 

“What can I get for ya today?” The man at the counter greeted him. 

“This,” Teddy slid a piece of paper from his journal across the table. 

Teddy left the tattoo parlour with a big grin plastered on his face. He had gotten a wolf howling at a full moon on his right shoulder blade, and in that moment, he felt more connected to his dad then he ever had. 

Yet another feast greeted him at the Burrow. Although this one was special because it had chocolate “dinner” cake, according to Harry. The group sang happy birthday and ate to their heart's content. And much to Teddy’s appreciation, no one asked him how his day had been. The day ended with Teddy happily obliging the kids requests for “funny faces,” which, in his case, involved lots of pig snouts. Ginny and Hermione kept glancing at each other knowingly, during his performance. 

They said their goodbyes, which lasted for about as long as you would expect. Teddy swore he had hugged everyone at least four times. Harry, Teddy, and James finally flooed back to Hogwarts. Harry walked James back to Gryffindor tower, while Teddy made his way to the astronomy tower. 

Teddy loved to stargaze, even if he couldn’t see his favorite constellations. He watched the stars well into the night. But he didn’t fall asleep, and he didn’t grow tired. Years of practice allowed him to stay awake while stargazing. A quick glance at his dad’s pocket watch showed him his dad’s birthday was officially over. 

Content, he made his way back to his dorm. He couldn’t wait to show his friends his tattoo. He climbed into bed without interruption, and promptly fell asleep. Teddy dreamed of wolves with a smile on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Song: Starman by David Bowie
> 
> Mostly canon compliant: I like to think of Teddy as being in Gryffindor, rather than Hufflepuff


End file.
